CHEVROLET RACING IN NATIONAL HOT ROD ASSOCIATION
NHRA KANSAS NATIONALS
HEARTLAND PARK TOPEKA, TOPEKA, KANSAS
Chevrolet Drivers Qualify No. 1 in Two Pro Classes at Topeka
· Brittany Force sets Top Fuel national elapsed time record
· Two-time winner this season earns fifth career No. 1 qualifier position
· Jason Line gives Chevrolet its eighth straight Pro Stock No. 1 honor
· Funny Car points leader Courtney Force is No. 4 qualifier
TOPEKA, Kan. (May 21, 2016) – Two dragstrips had been the site of sub-3.7-second Top Fuel runs. Brittany Force, driving the Monster Energy Chevrolet Dragster, added Heartland Park Topeka to the list during qualifications for the NHRA Kansas Nationals.
The John Force Racing driver’s blistering pass of 3.676 seconds set the track and National Hot Rod Association elapsed time national record in the class. Antron Brown (3.680 seconds) had held the record set at Brainerd, Minnesota, in August 2015. The dragway at Gainesville, Florida, also had been the site of the record.
Force, who has two victories and a runner-up finish in seven NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series races this season, recorded her first No. 1 qualifier honor of the season and fifth of her career. Her previous best this season had been third at Charlotte.
“That was and incredible run for the entire Monster Energy team,” said Force, who was the No. 1 qualifier at Heartland Park Topeka in 2014. “We’re hoping to take it just a bit further and end up in the winner’s circle.”
Pro Stock points leader Jason Line earned his third No. 1 qualifying position of the season and the eighth in a row for Chevrolet with a pass of 6.578 seconds in the Summit Racing Equipment Chevrolet Camaro SS. Chevrolet drivers occupy the top six spots heading into eliminations.
Bo Butner (Butner Auto Sales Chevrolet Camaro SS) qualified No. 2 for the second time this season with a pass of 6.591, while Greg Anderson, Line’s KB Racing teammate, qualified No. 3 at 6.600. Shane Gray (Valvoline/Nova Services Chevrolet Camaro SS) qualified No. 4 for the second consecutive event, and Alex Laughlin (Gas Monkey Garage Chevrolet Camaro SS) broke into the top five for the second time this season. Chris McGaha (Harlow Sammons of Odessa Chevrolet Camaro SS) was the No. 6 qualifier.
It was the first No. 1 qualifying position at Heartland Park Topeka for Line, who has advanced to every final round this season. A final-round appearance Sunday would be his first at the NHRA Kansas Nationals in 13 starts.
“We laughed on the way up here because I’ve never been to the media center at Topeka because I’ve never done anything good here, ever,” Line said.
In Funny Car, Courtney Force’s run of 3.875 seconds in the Traxxas Chevrolet Camaro SS was a career best and good for the No. 4 qualifier spot. John Force Racing teammate Robert Hight (Auto Club Chevrolet Camaro SS) was the No. 9 qualifier and John Force (Auto Zone PEAK Chevrolet Camaro SS) was the No. 11 qualifier.
The 16-time Funny Car champion used an older body and second chassis in the third and fourth rounds of qualifying after hitting the wall on the second run with the new Chevrolet Camaro SS on Friday.
“It’s a disappointment,” Force said. “I’ve unveiled a lot of bodies, never crashed ‘em in the first day. I was pushing too hard, maybe. It’s a great car. Nothing was affected by aero. It was just me trying to drive through rattle to get in the top 12, and it got away from me.”
FS1 will telecast eliminations and finals live at 2 p.m. ET Sunday.
AN INTERVIEW WITH TOP FUEL NO. 1 QUALIFIER BRITTANY FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, MONSTER ENERGY CHEVROLET DRAGSTER:
THIS IS YOUR FIRST NO. 1 QUALIFIER OF THE SEASON, SECOND AT TOPEKA – HOW DOES TOMORROW LOOK FOR YOU?
“We are definitely very anxious for tomorrow. This track is always a good one for us and we seem to do pretty decent here. And then to put a number on the board like we did yesterday and come away as the number one qualifier with the national ET record is pretty exciting. So we are pumped up and ready for tomorrow. Just proud of my Monster Energy team, Brian Husen, Alan Johnson and I am really excited to see what we can do tomorrow.”
WHAT WERE YOU THINKING WHEN THE LIGHTS MALFUNCTIONED?
“You know, it’s definitely tough when something like that happens. You are up there ready to go, ready to step on the gas and get the car down the track. Then they come over and they tell you to shut the car off. It’s a little bit of a letdown but we needed that run. So we pulled the car back and let the Funny Cars run for a little bit and we pulled back up there. We were hoping to run and make a better run than that since the conditions improved a little bit. We were really trying to push for something a little better and then we shook and didn’t make it down there. But we still have three awesome runs from Friday and earlier today and we will just go from there.”
IS IT A DIFFERENT FEELING IN THAT FOURTH SESSION IN KNOWING YOU COULD BE SUPER AGGRESSIVE AND FIND THAT EDGE KNOWING YOUR FALL BACK POSITION WAS THE NATIONAL ET RECORD TIME?
“Yeah, you always want to end on a good note. It definitely feels good going in on a Sunday to have a strong run but we were already set up good enough with some awesome runs, so we were able to push a little bit and see what it could do. It didn’t hold, but we had three good runs behind us.”
AN INTERVIEW WITH PRO STOCK NO. 1 QUALIFIER JASON LINE, KB RACING, SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT CHEVROLET CAMARO SS:
YOU ARE THE NO. 1 QUALIFIER, DOES THAT FEEL GOOD GOING INTO TOMORROW?
“It really does and it’s pretty much the first good thing I have ever done and Topeka and I feel pretty good about that. The car is great right now and again we have a great shot to win the race right now and I am not going to trade it with anybody. Right now our Chevy Camaro is bad to the bone.”
WHAT WOULD IT MEAN TO YOU TO FINALLY GET A WIN HERE AT TOPEKA?
“You know I never make a big deal out of that, but now that I have the opportunity to actually win, it would be a big deal. It’s always nice to do well at someplace that has been a problem for you in the past. So it would be a big deal. My goal is to win of course, and it is basically up to me. If I do a good job then we are going to have a heck of a shot at winning for sure. It’s easy, you just have to let the clutch out on time and it will happen.”
AFTER THESE TWO DAYS ARE YOU STARTING TO LIKE THE TRACK?
“I have always liked the track; it just hasn’t always liked me. So there is a big difference. I don’t have any bad memories here and it’s not like Columbus or anything. I just haven’t done well here and I cannot really tell you why, I just haven’t. So now I actually have something I can say I did good in Topeka. So maybe tomorrow will bring more of that.”
YOU HAVE SWEPT ALL THE BONUS POINTS THIS YEAR, IS THAT GOOD?
“Yeah, that’s good. A lot of people don’t want to qualify number one because they said it’s a jinx. I say that is BS because how could it be bad to qualify No. 1? It’s a great thing and I am excited about it.”